


Carried by Haters, Spread by Fools, Accepted by Idiots

by Princess_of_the_Pen



Series: Dick & Dami Week 2019 [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Damian Wayne is a good brother, Damian was defending his father and brother ok?, Gen, He's a very sweet boy, Paparazzi, Sent a man to the hospital but he deserved it, but they're just rumors, the rumors are awful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 12:58:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18522004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_of_the_Pen/pseuds/Princess_of_the_Pen
Summary: “This isn’t my first rodeo, kid, and they won’t leave until they get a couple of statements. They’re like high society policemen, really. Dirty officers that will make up things to get their win, unless you disprove them with the proper evidence. Or words in this case...”Damian raised an eyebrow as Grayson trailed off into silence, his brows furrowed in concentration as if he was examining a complicated case. Eventually, he gave a one-shouldered shrug, as if whatever he was thinking about was satisfactory enough, and moved to open the door.“Okay, then I will accompany you! My word will be the greatest of evidence!” Damian exclaimed, puffing his chest out in a show of false bravado.“Damian…” and the way Grayson said it had Damian deflating before the word was completely said. Grayson’s voice had lost the frustrated edge and icy tone, replaced with a bone-deep weariness that made Damian’s stomach twist with guilt. “Haven’t you’ve done enough for today?”





	Carried by Haters, Spread by Fools, Accepted by Idiots

**Author's Note:**

> Uh... not much to say. I’m gonna complete these prompts no matter how long it takes :/
> 
>  **Trigger Warning** : Implied child abuse. Didn’t actually happen, they’re just ugly rumors, I promise. Implied only by the haters, fools, and idiots ✌🏾

**YOUNGEST WAYNE THROWS TANTRUM IN MALL  
**

_It doesn’t matter._

**NEW WAYNE, NEW PROBLEMS: NEWEST ADDITION TO THE BROOD COST THOUSANDS IN DAMAGE**

_It doesn’t matter._

**WAYNE’S BRAT ASSAULTS MAN, DESTROYS STORE**

_They don’t know anything._

**BRUCE WAYNE ABSENT AS CHILD WREAKS HAVOC: WHERE IS HE?**

_Ignore it._

**DAMIAN WAYNE: GOTHAM’S NEWEST DEMON**

_Ignore it._

**BRUCE WAYNE: IRRESPONSIBLE PARENT**

_Ignore it!_

It took everything within Damian to keep the words inside his head. He could feel them burning in the back of his throat like bile, a mantra that would be ineffective until he could hear them with his ears. With a stubborn grunt, Damian kept his lips firmly pressed together. If he spoke, he feared he wouldn’t be able to stop and Grayson might hear. Then Grayson would come and see the various articles opened on Damian’s phone and he would know exactly how much they bothered Damian.

They shouldn’t bother him at all.

Damian squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, but it didn’t help. He could still see the words on the inside of his eyelids, could feel his body tingling as if the words were imprinting themselves into his skin, permanent tattoos to remind the world of his failures.

_Tantrum. Problems. Brat. Havoc. Demon._

Every letter tormented him in a way that nothing ever had. He was Damian Wayne, heir to the Demon and son of the Bat. The opinion of a few sniffling, gossipping leeches should’ve meant nothing to him. But something about the words itched his skin, tearing at his very soul.

_Tantrum._

_Brat._

He was not a brat. He did not throw tantrums. He wasn’t a _child_. He was a protector and he was defending his stupid “brother’s”  honor, something that everyone would know if anyone had bothered asking him about what happened. Not even Grayson had cared, instead opting to march him to the nearest shelter - Wayne Enterprises - and leaving him in his office with a sharp “ _Stay_ ” before going off to do damage control.

And stay he did, with nothing but those damning titles on his phone and a faint buzzing in his head.

Damian squeezed his eyes tighter, counting backwards from 10 in hopes of quieting his mind, but the buzzing only grew. The words swam in his brain like angry bees and Damian let his phone drop as he clamped his hands over his ears.

Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it!

The more he tried to erase the words in his brain, the more prominent they became. The buzz in his head grew louder and louder until it was a roar and then-

“Fuck!”

Damian jumped, eyes snapping open and hands falling to his side as Grayson stormed into the office. If the curse word wasn’t alarming enough, the rage behind the man’s usually cheerful blue eyes was enough to make even Grandfather’s most loyal ninja run for the hills. Damian stumbled back as Grayson blew through the office like a hurricane, not stopping until he reached the wall of windows on the other side of the room. “Just what we need! Fucking paparazzi!”

“Huh?” Damian asked dumbly. It wasn’t until then that he realized that the roar in his head wasn’t in his head at all, but was actually coming from the other side of the windows. Feeling somewhat dazed, Damian stumbled towards the window and peered out.

It was chaos, pure and simple. A mob of people swarmed outside of Wayne Enterprises, the crowd dotted with the frequent flash of cameras. _Riot_ would be another good name for it, with all the police and W.E. security guards trying to push the hoard back. Damian swallowed painfully, his throat suddenly dry. He had fought many crowds but this was something else. They were here for him: here to rip him apart, here to expose every flaw and immortalize them for all of Gotham to drool over. One look at Grayson’s thunderous face and dread filled Damian’s stomach. He wasn’t sure if he could count on the man’s protection or not.

“Stay here,” Grayson snapped and, dammit, would he say something else!? _Stay, stay, stay_ , like Damian was a dog or something.

“Where are you going?” Damian asked, pushing himself away from the windows as Grayson stalked back across the room.

“To deal with the crowd.”

“You cannot go out there! Those vultures will swallow you alive!”

“This isn’t my first rodeo, kid, and they won’t leave until they get a couple of statements. They’re like high society policemen, really. Dirty officers that will make up things to get their win, unless you disprove them with the proper evidence. Or words in this case...”

Damian raised an eyebrow as Grayson trailed off into silence, his brows furrowed in concentration as if he was examining a complicated case. Eventually, he gave a one-shouldered shrug, as if whatever he was thinking about was satisfactory enough, and moved to open the door.

“Okay, then I will accompany you! My word will be the greatest of evidence!” Damian exclaimed, puffing his chest out in a show of false bravado.

“Damian…” and the way Grayson said it had Damian deflating before the word was completely said. Grayson’s voice had lost the frustrated edge and icy tone, replaced with a bone-deep weariness that made Damian’s stomach twist with guilt. “Haven’t you’ve done enough for today?”

_It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter._

Except it did. It shouldn’t but it did. Grayson was disappointed in him, again, just like he had been when they first started three months ago. It felt like a huge step back, one that made Damian want to punch something. But he couldn’t. That’s what got them in this situation in the first place.

“Oh no, Dami, please don’t cry!”

The sentence came like a punch to the gut, making Damian suddenly all too aware of the wetness on his cheeks. Grayson’s tone had changed again, this time to _pity_. He moved forward, arms reached out for the first time since the incident, eyes wide with regret and - no! No! Damian ducked out of reach, scrubbing at his eyes furiously. This was not allowed! Pity was the last thing he needed, the last thing he wanted. If Grayson was going to be mad at him then so be it! Any punishment would be better than this!

“I didn’t mean it like that, buddy, I swear,” Grayson continued and it only made Damian want to scream. _Mean it like what?_ “It’s just not a good idea for you to go out there.”

“But--“

“Damian, you sent a man to the hospital. You destroyed a store. Nothing you say is gonna make this better. They’ll twist your words, paint you in a worse light. Let me handle this-”

“But you do not even know the full story!” Grayson paused for a second, taken aback by the outburst. Damian quickly continued before the man could stop him. “You didn’t hear what he said about Father! What he said about _you_!”

“It doesn’t matter what he said--”

“He accused Father of committing horrendous acts on you and Todd and Drake! He said that Father was behind Todd’s death, that it was a cover-up because Todd was going to go to the police and tell of Father abusing him! He called you incompetent, was spewing derogatory insults… he - he said that you were nothing but Father’s _boy toy_.”

At that Grayson simply sighed and shook his head, but it didn’t seem like he was going to interrupt. Damian knew he should stop by the words kept coming.

“I did not mean to attack him. I do not recall doing it, either. One minute I was simply waiting for you, then I heard him and everything went red. The next minute, there were people everywhere. They were touching me, Grayson. Pulling me out of the store like they wanted to hurt me. I did not intend to destroy the establishment, I was simply trying to get away. I could not find you and… and, I did not want them touching me.”

The room fell into silence as Damian finished, nothing but the roar of the paparazzi ringing in their ears. Damian felt small and pathetic, eclipsed by Grayson and lost in the huge room. Grayson was looking at him, regret and pity still shining bright in those blue eyes. He reached out a hand, as if to put it on Damian’s shoulder, but then hesitated before letting the appendage drop back to his side.

Both their shoulders slumped at once. Damian wouldn’t say it, but he didn’t mind Grayson touching him. Maybe Grayson had conditioned to it, but… well, Damian wouldn’t mind a hug right about now.

“Damian I’m sorry. I… I should’ve prepared you for this. Legally, it doesn’t matter what that man said. Freedom of speech and all that, y’know? You could be arrested for what you did. Socially… well, socially, this is the norm, I’m afraid. Those rumors are popular amongst the high society crowd. No matter what I say or how many punches you throw, that’s not gonna change. The rich will always be looking for the newest drama and those rumors are the only way their sick, twisted minds could rationalize playboy Brucie Wayne taking in a young,  _poor_ circus freak and a _street rat_. They don’t understand how the richest man in the city could lower himself to that, I guess. Therefore, Bruce must have a secret. Then Tim got roped into it: he was the heir to a fortune but the rumor wheel had already been spinning for years. Plus with all the bruises me and Jason had, especially around the legs… you can see where I’m going with this. I should’ve warned you. I guess I just assumed I had until your first gala, at least, before you heard something.”

“But that’s not right! Father would _never_ \--”

“I know he would never. You know that too, and that’s what’s most important. Maybe once upon a time we could’ve changed public opinion but the gossip rags are persistent. I like to believe that it’s the minority that buys into the bullshit. After all, Brucie Wayne is still Gotham’s sunshine child. As long as he stays on their good side and their good drama somewhere else, you won’t hear a word about those rumors. But there are people that truly believe it and you’re just gonna have to learn how to keep your cool around them. Violence will only make it worse. You understand?”

Damian stood there, stoic and pensive. His eyebrows nearly kissed as he scrunched up his forehead and his body slightly shook from how taut his muscles were. “Dami…” Grayson singsonged. “ _Dami_ …”

“Tt. Fine.”

“Great. Now come on.”

“Huh?” Damian eyes widened as Grayson held the door open for him. “I thought you said I had to stay here?”

“You was right, Dami, they don’t know the full story. While hearing it may not help, they should know that it’s their fault. That it’s their rumors that started all this. And I think you should be the one to tell them, if you want. A chance to defend yourself. But only if you're comfortable with it. It’s a pretty big crowd…”

“I want to do it. I will show them what happens when you slander the name of a Wayne!”

Grayson snickered. “Damian…”

“With my words, of course. Promise.”

“ _Right_.” Grayson gave a huge smile, eyes sparkling with a mischievousness that sent a shock down Damian’s spine. “Now let's go tell the paparazzi _exactly_ what we think of them!”

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot to mention this but the man Damian attacked was _not_ speaking to him. He was on the phone, Damian overheard him talking shit, and it did not end well. So to everyone else, it looks like Damian just randomly attacked an innocent man.


End file.
